Bare ActsThe Bihar Logistic Policy

Section 2

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Background The Logistics Sector comprises of warehousing, shipping, rail, road, air freight, express cargo and other value-added services. Globally it generates an average annual turnover of more than USD 8 trillion and accounts for 11 percent of the global GDP in 2019. The Logistics market is expected to reach USD 15522.02 billion by 2023. The market is expected to reach 92.10 billion tons by 2024. . 2.1. Indian Scenario The Indian logistics sector was valued at USD 160 billion in 2019. India’s rank has improved from 54 in 2014 to 44 in 2018 in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), in terms of overall logistics performance. ; The sector has come a long way since the economic liberalization, from being a mere transportation services provider to a fully integrated services provider, recording stupendous growth as the consumer market shifts from retail markets to e-retail. Even after new initiatives and policy frameworks, the sector, however, continues to remain highly fragmented and demands more reforms to stabilize and pick up a greater growth velocity. The logistics sector in India is an area of priority and has benefitted from reforms such as the award of ‘infrastructure’ status in 2017, easing of FDI norms, implementation of GST, positive changes in the regulatory ecosystem, Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Make in India, etc. These reforms have provided the stimulus for growth opportunities in all facets of logistics including -transportation, warehousing, freight forwarding, express cargo delivery, container services, shipping services, etc. The context of logistics including warehousing and allied activities plays a vital role in the overall development of the economy by facilitating the dismantling of barriers to the acquisition of land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. 2.2 Bihar Scenario Bihar has a unique location-specific advantage because of its proximity to the vast markets of Eastern, Central, and Northern India, Nepal, and South East Asia. The state is well connected to the rest of India and international markets. As per Bihar Economic Survey 2020-21, Bihar’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) grew by 10.5% (constant prices) in 2019-20 which is -higher than the national average growth rate. Air Transport, Storage, and other services rank amongst the fastest sub-sectors in Bihar's GSDP. The state can further leverage its location next to land-locked Nepal by taking advantage of the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement (BBIN MVA) through the Inland Container Depot (dry port) at Birgunj, Nepal which is less than 10 km from the town of Raxaul in Bihar. 2.2.1. Enabling Infrastructure Rail Rail is second to only waterways when it comes to per km cost of freight transport. Bihar boasts of a total of 3794 km of Rail lines, which is around 5.6% of the total rail network in India. The Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) also passes through the state spanning “a length of 240 km. Road Bihar is strategically located and boasts of a large road network. Easy accessibility, the flexibility of operations, door-to-door service, and reliability have earned road transport an increasingly higher share of both passenger and freight traffic, vis-a-vis other transport modes _in Bihar. A network of National Highways (NH) crisscrosses the state, and as per Bihar Economic Survey 2021-22, the total length is 5948 Km. The NH is supplemented by a network of State Highways (SH) spanning 37134 Km to complement the already existing NH stretches of the Golden Quadrilateral and East-West Corridor in the state, a total of 751 km of NH are being additionally upgraded to world-class standards under the Bharatmala initiative of the Government of India. Further SAARC Corridor 4 Tranche 1 and SAARC Corridor Tranche 2 which pass through India provide Bihar connectivity to the international market of Bangladesh, -Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar. Air The state has air connectivity through 3 existing Airports at Patna, Gaya, and Darbhanga. As per the Bihar Economic Survey Bihar has registered a massive growth in air transport sector, as the GSDP of this sector has increased from Rs. 31 crores in 2011-12 to Rs. 252 crores in 2018-19. This implied an annual growth rate of 35.6 percent. The domestic passenger traffic registered an annual growth rate of 36.6 percent during the period 2014-15 to 2018-19. Similarly, aircraft movements increased by 31.0 percent annually during the same period. The freight movement has also increased by more than six times, from 1.04 thousand tons in 2004-05 to 6.32 thousand tons in 2018 -19 Waterways Waterways provide a size-flexible, cost-effective, and environment-friendly option for transporting freight. Bihar is blessed with several rivers that flow through the state, and with the implementation of the National Waterways Act, 2016 seven rivers of Bihar have been declared National Inland Waterways. Amongst these 7 National Waterways (NW), NW 1 (Allahabad-Haldia) is already operational with a fixed Jetty at Patna and Floating Terminals at Bateshwarsthan, Bhagalpur, Munger, Barh, Saran and Buxar.

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